Panelists on front line of oil train explosions

Three panelists at an upcoming crude oil transportation summit in Albany have firsthand experience in recent derailments that led to explosions and fires.

The summit, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 8 at the Thelma P. Lally Building at The College of Saint Rose, is being presented by Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy, who is a former firefighter; and by Albany County Sheriff Craig D. Apple Sr.

Panelists include Tim Pellerin, the fire chief and emergency management agency director for the Rangeley, Maine Fire/Rescue Department, which responded to a mutual aid call following the Lac Megantic derailment that killed 47 people in July 2013; Robert Lipscomb, battalion chief in Lynchburg, Va., where an oil train derailed and burned in April 2014; and Chuck Pedersen, emergency management director in Jo Daviess County, which includes Galena, Ill., where an oil train derailed and burned in March.

Also on the panel is Fred Millar, an expert on transportation and accident prevention, emergency planning and homeland security.

The summit is free and open to the public. Details are available from Mary Rozak in the county executive’s office at 447-7040.

PAUSE is a grassroots group of individuals who have come together to promote safe, sustainable energy and fight for environmental justice. We engage the greater public to stop the fossil fuel industry’s assault on the people of Albany and our environment.